Beliebe It

Justin Bieber Has a New Tattoo, and It’s on His Face

If you were scrolling through your Instagram feed yesterday, catching up on a weekend’s worth of images, scrolling past the sea of Mother’s Day throwback shots, you likely reached a semi-blurry up-close selfie of one Justin Bieber, earbud dangling out of his right ear, left hand pressed on top of his face. For Bieber, this semi-inscrutable, moody shot is of course not out of the ordinary, and you might have just scrolled past it, mindlessly, onto a bridesmaids shot posted by one of your college friends, or a picture of a lake posted by your ex’s brother whom you can’t bring yourself to unfollow. But, if you inspected the Bieber shot closer, if you upped the brightness on your phone to the maximum and maybe broke out a magnifying glass, you’d notice a little black speck to the side of Bieber’s eye. And no, that speck is not a piece of licorice, or the remnants of an “I love you, Justin!!!!” message scrawled in Magic Marker by a fan across his head. It’s a tattoo! Yes, a real tattoo, on his face.

Bieber reportedly received the new ink on Friday, when he stopped by West 4th Tattoo Parlor in New York City, with his friend Joe Termini. The duo got matching cross tattoos, in the same place, “just below their left eyes.” Naturally, this sent the Belieber masses into something of a tailspin, similar to the reaction a few months ago when it appeared Zayn Malik may have added some ink to his face (in that case, it turned out to be a false alarm, as the bird tattoo seen on Malik’s face in an Instagram shot was revealed to be temporary). Bieber has spoken about the possibility of getting a face tattoo before, as he reportedly told GQ he might ever consider getting one, though, “Maybe when I’m really old, not super old, but maybe, like, 40s or 50s or something . . . one above my eyebrow or something small.” (Though perhaps he meant “40s or 50s” in the metaphorical sense—it probably does feel to him at this point like he’s been in show business for four decades.) He went on, at the time, “I think if they’re done right, they could be cool, but nothing super crazy all over the face.”

The tattoo artist, Jonboy, has spoken out, as well, telling Us Weekly, “Justin came in last night and decided on a small cross near the corner of his eye. . . . It represents his journey in finding purpose with God.”

Make sure to be kind to the Beliebers in your life today, as they struggle with whether or not to Photoshop the tattoo onto all of their Bieber iPhone wallpaper selections (“This is how he wants his face to look . . . maybe we should honor that, retroactively?!”), some no doubt debating whether or not to go get small tattoos next to their left eyes in solidarity.

Discovered when he was 14, 16-year-old Bieber has accomplished remarkable feats all within the past two years: a platinum debut album (My World), two Grammy nominations, four American Music Awards (he beat out Eminem and Lady Gaga for artist of the year), and a feature film, Never Say Never, out February 11. Did we mention a world tour?

Bieber wears a shirt by Gucci. Grooming products by Bumble and Bumble and Make Up For Ever.See complete credits.

“Check out my six-pack!” Bieber said (and we’re not talking about Coca-Cola!). The September 2009 Vanity Fair collectors’ issue, featuring Michael Jackson with a similarly exposed chest, happened to be found on set and prompted Justin’s desire to emulate his moonwalking idol. “I want to be like Michael!” he exclaimed. Lisa Robinson’s interview with a teenage Michael Jackson in this same issue excited the Biebs; the legendary music writer was soon to interview our present-day teenage sensation, leaving Michael and Justin with much more in common than just an open shirt.

Every move he makes, the world watches. Screaming fans and flashing lights don’t phase the Biebs, as he poses with his other source of inspiration: every Elvis record imaginable. It didn’t take much to get the extras in the shoot excited about Justin. Not knowing that he would be there, the girls shrieked deafeningly when they walked onto the set. We overheard one adorable extra say, “I went to the bathroom so many times just so I could get a glimpse of where Justin was. I never even really had to go!”

Truly a modern-day Renaissance man, Justin attracts as many fans on the croquet court as he does on the stage. We hope a change of career is not in the near future, though one in croquet appears promising.

Beyond the camera’s lens, the girls privileged enough to touch Justin were on the verge of fainting with delight. At one point bragging, “I got to touch Justin’s heart!” one girl fulfilled the dreams of millions.

“What do I love about Justin? Everything!” said Justin’s lucky lunch date. Her favorite part of the meal? Ice-cold lemonade, with an afternoon serenade on the side.

Bieber wears a cardigan by Band of Outsiders; T-shirt by the Gap; pants by Unis; shoes by Keds.See complete credits.

Dreads over threads, Justin’s clothes were waterlogged while, at his insistence, his hair remained dry. Moments later, Justin and his team jetted to board a private plane to San Diego, so he’d have enough time to meet more fans before his arena show that night.

Bieber wears a shirt by Band of Outsiders; pants by Prada; shoes by Keds; sunglasses by Ray-Ban.See complete credits.

Discovered when he was 14, 16-year-old Bieber has accomplished remarkable feats all within the past two years: a platinum debut album (My World), two Grammy nominations, four American Music Awards (he beat out Eminem and Lady Gaga for artist of the year), and a feature film, Never Say Never, out February 11. Did we mention a world tour?

Bieber wears a shirt by Gucci. Grooming products by Bumble and Bumble and Make Up For Ever.See complete credits.

“Check out my six-pack!” Bieber said (and we’re not talking about Coca-Cola!). The September 2009 Vanity Fair collectors’ issue, featuring Michael Jackson with a similarly exposed chest, happened to be found on set and prompted Justin’s desire to emulate his moonwalking idol. “I want to be like Michael!” he exclaimed. Lisa Robinson’s interview with a teenage Michael Jackson in this same issue excited the Biebs; the legendary music writer was soon to interview our present-day teenage sensation, leaving Michael and Justin with much more in common than just an open shirt.

Every move he makes, the world watches. Screaming fans and flashing lights don’t phase the Biebs, as he poses with his other source of inspiration: every Elvis record imaginable. It didn’t take much to get the extras in the shoot excited about Justin. Not knowing that he would be there, the girls shrieked deafeningly when they walked onto the set. We overheard one adorable extra say, “I went to the bathroom so many times just so I could get a glimpse of where Justin was. I never even really had to go!”

Truly a modern-day Renaissance man, Justin attracts as many fans on the croquet court as he does on the stage. We hope a change of career is not in the near future, though one in croquet appears promising.

Beyond the camera’s lens, the girls privileged enough to touch Justin were on the verge of fainting with delight. At one point bragging, “I got to touch Justin’s heart!” one girl fulfilled the dreams of millions.

“What do I love about Justin? Everything!” said Justin’s lucky lunch date. Her favorite part of the meal? Ice-cold lemonade, with an afternoon serenade on the side.

Bieber wears a cardigan by Band of Outsiders; T-shirt by the Gap; pants by Unis; shoes by Keds.See complete credits.

Dreads over threads, Justin’s clothes were waterlogged while, at his insistence, his hair remained dry. Moments later, Justin and his team jetted to board a private plane to San Diego, so he’d have enough time to meet more fans before his arena show that night.

Bieber wears a shirt by Band of Outsiders; pants by Prada; shoes by Keds; sunglasses by Ray-Ban.See complete credits.